Cheltenham Sub: Miles is on. Pompey Sub: Young South Korean player Seok Jae Lee on for Alfie Stanley. 76 minutes.
Final whistle. 0-3 to Pompey. Comfortable win for PFC, with good performances by Ben Close, Jordy Hiwula, and the youngsters Haji Mnoga, Charlie Bell and Alfie Stanley.
I have been a Pompey fan since the mid 60s and for years we struggled against relegation, and fáiled to make any impact in the cups. Fast forward to 2003 and since then, the we have won a trophy once every 4 years. Not many clubs can manage that sort of success!
Cannot complain about the '2nd team' winning3-0! Two very nicely taken goals by Hiwula, the first from a nice headed layoff from Stanley. It was interesting to contrast the 17 year old Bell to Close in the mid field. When 'given their chance' players fall into one of two camps - those that try to make an impression by being too adventurous and those who play conservatively and try to avoid mistakes but,as a consequence are not very penetrating. Bell fell into the latter category while Close, his senior, had an excellent game and dictated play. My past criticism of Close when he plays in 'the first team' is that he plays too conservatively as Bell did last night. With Close , Bell, and Morris in mid field one would fear a lack of ball winning ability but this was not apparent on the night. Perhaps the aggressive wing backs, Mnoga and Pring, compensated although he standard of the opposition was also relevant. Mnoga certainly continues to impress. His final pass was sometimes lacking but if he can improve it it will have great effect since the defense is so often stressed by his pace when he makes it. An opportunity to give the fringe players more minutes very welll taken.
Pompey are away to Peterborough in the third round Full draw https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/55258990 There is only one 'pretend' team left, so good luck to Tranmere - let's have eight 'proper' teams in the quarter finals
